Page 84 of Rescued by the Single Dad

Sergeant Fox shoved his fingers into his hair, causing his bicep to pop. “Jesus,” he murmured.

“Brooke saw the whole thing, so she ran. His cop buddies helped him dispose of our mother’s body. Brooke took a bus six towns over, then filed a report. It ended up going through internal affairs and all the way up to the FBI. My dad and his friends were dirty cops. Took money and drugs from local gangs, leaned on businesses for protection payment. They thought they ran the town ... but they never anticipated Brooke. She took them all down. She was fifteen.”

At this point, Clint’s mouth was dry. He’d had it open so long as he just stared at Rocco.

Holy. Fucking. Shit. No wonder Brooke didn’t trust cops and was so protective of her past. She’d taken down an entire police force, watched her father kill her mother, then bravely went up against him and turned him in.

Rocco’s gaze turned hard. “I expect this information stays between us, Sergeant Fox. I don’t particularly trust the detective in there. But I trust you—and believe me, that says a lot. You have honesty in your eyes. I really hope I’m not wrong here.”

Normally, Clint was better at detecting a military background in people he met. They all just carried themselves differently. Standing at attention had been drilled into them in such a way he didn’t think he’d ever slouch again. But it wasn’t until Rocco said he trusted the sergeant that Clint’s suspicions were verified. The sergeant’s back went straighter, and he lifted his chin just a little.

“Well, I appreciate that trust,” Sergeant Fox said. “Can’t imagine trust in the police comes easily to you or your sister anymore.”

Rocco shook his head. “Sure doesn’t.” Then he scoffed. “And I live in Brazil full time, so you can probably imagine that my faith in law enforcement hasn’t exactly been restored.”

The Sergeant snorted. “Probably not, no. What do you do in Brazil?”

“I’m a veterinarian at an animal rescue facility in Rio,” Rocco said without hesitation.

Sergeant Fox smiled and nodded, jotting that information down in his notebook. “Let me look into things.” His lips twisted in thought for a moment. “Was there any chance your dad got out for good behavior? Or he had someone on the outside do his bidding?”

“Good behavior?” Rocco snorted and shook his head. “Uh, no. He got convicted for first-degree murder as well as two dozen other charges. His sentence was like fifty something years with no option for parole. Honestly, if Brooke and I weren’t keeping tabs on him just for our own peace of mind and we didn’t know for certain he was alive, I’d have thought a cop like him would have been killed in prison a long time ago.”

Sergeant Fox rolled his lips inward and made a noise of agreement. “Any other family?”

“Well, Mom’s dead. And we had an aunt and uncle take us in after dad went to prison, but once we turned eighteen, we cut ties with them completely. They treated us like shit. Came crawling out of the woodwork when Brooke got famous, but her lawyers had a gag order issued on them. If they breathe a word of our past to the media, they’ll be sued. My sister has covered her tracks and, so far, kept our past a pretty good secret.”

“If the world thinks she’s dead, it won’t stay a secret for much longer,” Sergeant Fox murmured. “Not even a stellar PR team will be able to stop every cretin from digging.”

Clint was thinking the exact same thing.

“Let me make some calls,” Sergeant Fox said. “I’m not a detective, nor am I on this case, but after everything you’ve told me, I empathize. If this were my sister, I wouldn’t stop until I had answers, either. I’d want closure one way or another. I’m on it, okay.”

Rocco’s face finally brightened, and a hint of a smile touched his mouth. “Thank you.”

Sergeant Fox nodded and reached into his breast pocket. He pulled out a card and handed it to Rocco. “Here’s my card. Call if you have any more information.”

Rocco reached into his wallet and pulled out a card of his own. “Ditto,” he said, handing the card to Sergeant Fox.

The two men shared a look of deep understanding before shaking hands again.

Sergeant Fox offered Clint his hand, and Clint took it, tilting his head. “Rangers?”

The Sergeant instantly understood, and his smile grew wider. “Marines. Iraq.”

Clint matched the man’s cheerful grin and gripped his hand harder. “Me, too. Two tours.”

Sergeant Fox’s expression warmed even more. “Always good to meet a fellow brother.”

“Oorah,” Clint replied before he and Rocco took their leave and headed back out to Clint’s truck.

“Brooke’s going to kill me,” Rocco muttered as they climbed into the cab of the truck.

“Why? Because you told the cop about her past?”

They buckled their belts, and Rocco lobbed a weary sigh. “Yeah, that. But more so because I told you. As far as I know, she’s never told a soul. And you, a guy she just met and barely knows being privy to her secret, is not going to sit well.”

“Well, I won’t tell a soul. I swear.”

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